Toyota recalling about 51,000 Tundra trucks

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — Toyota recalled about 51,000 of its Tundra trucks Tuesday to inspect rear drive shafts that may include a component that could break.

Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. said an estimated 0.5 percent of the vehicles may have a faulty slip yoke because of improper casting during the foundry process.

The company is aware of one slip yoke failure. There are no reports of accidents or injuries related to the condition.

The recall involves only Tundras from the 2011 model year.

Over the past year and a half Toyota has wrestled with numerous recalls covering a wide range of defects, including faulty floor mats, sticky gas pedals and glitches in braking software, ballooning to more than 14 million vehicles globally.

The company paid the U.S. government a record $48.8 million in fines for its handling of three recalls. Toyota faces dozens of lawsuits from owners in the U.S., including fatalities allegedly linked to defects.

Toyota said letters notifying customers about the Tundra recall will be sent out starting next month and will be available on its website.

Inspections and any replacements made will be free of charge.

Last week Toyota recalled more than 300,000 RAV4 and Highlander vehicles so it could fix an airbag issue.

That recall includes about 214,000 RAV4s from 2007 and 2008 and approximately 94,000 Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles from 2008. All of the vehicles involved were sold in the U.S.